Suspect arrested in Arnaudville home invasion

An Opelousas man, seriously wounded in an alleged home invasion last week in Arnaudville, is now out of the hospital and behind bars.

Currently being held without bond in the St. Landry Parish Jail is Jamaican Jamar Major, 21, 121 W. Church St., Opelousas.

He has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, home invasion and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said Major was considered a suspect in the home invasion from the very beginning, but he spent much of last week in a Lafayette hospital in critical condition and it took a while before detectives could question him.

According to Megan Vizena with the sheriff’s office, Major suffered two gunshot wounds, one to his side that was a through-and-through and then another where the bullet hit his wrist and became lodged in his elbow.

The shooting apparently began when Major broke into a trailer in the 100 block of Allemond Street in Arnaudville during the early morning hours of April 18.

“The victim told detectives that he was sleeping when he was awakened by a gun being pointed towards his head. The suspect opened fire on the victim but fortunately the victim was able to escape with non-life threatening injuries,” Vizena said.

Evidence collected at the scene indicates the victim and the suspect engaged in a gun battle.

“When detectives arrived on scene, they observed approximately 21 shell casings inside of the residence,” Vizena said. “There were bullet holes both inside and outside the trailer.”

She said the victim, who knew Major, is not facing any charges.

“The victim was able to identify the suspect. Detectives were able to recover the handgun used during the home invasion at Major’s residence,” Vizena said.

She said detectives believe the suspect may have been looking for something in particular in the trailer. “They observed that all the kitchen cabinets, the freeze and the refrigerator doors were open,” Vizena said.

The case was initially handled by the Arnaudville Police Department, but Chief Eddy LeCompte said as soon as his officers had secured the crime scene, he immediately ask the sheriff’s office to take over the case.

“They have crime scene and detective resources that just aren’t available to a small department like ours,” said LeCompte, who praised the work of the sheriff’s office.